Peterhead manager Jim McInally insists they will get Simon Ferry back to his best after his recent fitness struggles.
Ferry came off after 27 minutes in the 1-1 draw with East Fife on Saturday, the third time in a row he needed to be substituted inside half-an-hour.
But McInally stressed the importance Ferry has to his team, given the experience he possesses in a young side.
The midfielder had been struggling with a hamstring issue recently but came off on Saturday after taking a knock to the back in the first half.
McInally also believes there is added stress for Ferry just now with Open Goal, his football podcast, due to have their Christmas show at the Hydro in Glasgow on Thursday.
“I think he’s at the stage where he feels like he’s letting us down,” said the Peterhead boss. “He’s quite an honest guy and once he gets this show out of the road, we’ll do what we did before and get his fitness levels back up.
“We need his experience. We’re already a ridiculously young team. He loves playing but he’s nowhere near the fitness levels he knows he should have.
“I probably don’t help saying we’re having to make early subs and he knows he’s one of them.
“But in my opinion he’s too important to us. If we only have him for 10 games and we win four of them, that could make the difference for us staying up.
“We’ve got a wee break after the Montrose game and I’ve said to him to get the show out the way, then get himself right.”
McInally added that both Ferry and Andy McCarthy, who also came off on Saturday, will be out against Dumbarton on Saturday, while both Scott and Jason Brown are injury concerns. Ryan Conroy missed the weekend and Peterhead are waiting to find out if it is a hernia problem.
“He’s set himself a target to get a lot of running done in the next few weeks,” added McInally. “We need to find out if it’s a hernia but the hospitals have put them (hernia operations) on the backburner, so he’s not in a good position if it is that.”
Midfielder Alan Cook could be back next month after a stress fracture of his shin while Gary Fraser is due to have his long-awaited knee operation on Thursday.
“I’ve never been so excited for someone to get an operation,” said McInally. “Once it’s done, I don’t think it’s going to be as long as he thought it could be (before he is back).
“He’s got himself in really good condition, which will help him recover quicker.”
There has been no further movement on Peterhead’s hopes of extending Ryan Duncan’s loan beyond January, while Josh Mulligan could also be recalled by parent club Dundee.
